When you or your team is burnt out: 3 things to do to recover
Over the last few weeks, we have examined what managers can do when their team is stretched and stressed. What happens if your team members have moved beyond feeling a bit stressed to full-on burnout?
Hopefully, we can employ the tactics we already identified to help notice the signs and remediate them before they become burnout, but there are times when this can happen. Perhaps it is happening to your team now or to you personally as a manager. In fact, middle managers are the quickest to burn out these days given the tug of war they sometimes find themselves in between their direct reports and their leaders.
#1 Determine when someone is burnt out.
What does burnout look like? You can be exhausted, disengaged, overly cynical, or overly self-critical. You can feel more anxious, stressed, or even numb. You can worry more, see an increase in eating, or experience a decrease in sleep and exercise. Burnout should not be ignored as it can have an impact not only on our work but also on our mental and physical health. Some can crash and get physically sick as a result of burnout.
When these signs are showing in yourself or your team, we need to take more action. The obvious solution is to take a break/vacation. Certainly, this can help but it may not solve the underlying issues. And, for some, taking a vacation can cause more stress because we know the pile of work we may face after returning from vacation.
#2 Identify the root cause.
We may still prescribe the person to take time off, but we need to address the cause. Here are some common work-related causes according to the Mayo Clinic.
Lack of control. Not having a say in how you do your job, such as your schedule, assignments, or workload, can lead to job burnout. Not having what you need to do your work also can add to burnout.
Lack of clarity about what's expected of you. If you're not sure what your boss or others want from you, you're not likely to feel like you're doing a good job.
Conflicts with others. Maybe you work with an office bully. Or you feel that co-workers are against you. Or your boss is too involved with your work. These conflicts can add to job stress.
Too much or too little to do. Maybe your job is boring. Or it's so busy you can't keep up with the demands. In these situations, you need a lot of energy to stay focused. This can lead to fatigue and job burnout.
Lack of support. If you feel alone at work and in your personal life, you might feel more stressed.
Problems with work-life balance. Problems with work-life balance. Maybe your work takes up so much of your time and energy that you have nothing left for family and friends. This lack of balance can lead to job burnout.
If one of these causes is the culprit, we can help alleviate it as a manager.
#3 Ask questions and identify solutions.
Here are some questions you can ask your team to learn their perspectives according to Forbes:
How much time are you spending on each of your tasks?
Do you feel that you are allotted the time you need for each responsibility?
What are your thoughts on the workload?
How much time are you dedicating to administrative jobs?
Do you have any suggestions for how we can support you?
Are you receiving enough information from me to help communicate top-level decisions to your teams? (Great question for higher-level managers!)
Most burnout stems from a heavy workload, not enough support, being buried in administrative activities, having some conflict on the team with another person, or not having certain work/scope in your control.
As a manager, spending time examining the work itself and how work is assigned and organized could alleviate some stress. Following are just a handful of questions we can ask ourselves as managers to help identify the right solutions.
Are people focused on what they like to do and excel at? What can be automated using AI to remove some of the administrative burden? Is the team sharing and collaborating appropriately? Is there support for those who are working more than their fair share? How much autonomy does your team have? How much information is being shared with them? Are people aligned with the bigger picture? Do people see the fruits of their efforts and know they are making an impact?
The key to helping burnout is to allow people to take breaks without consequence, ensure the workload is reasonable, align the work with strengths and interests, and pay attention if other issues are going on and provide support or even just an ear to listen.
This holiday season is a perfect time for a break and a reset in preparing for next year.